It was a sea of purple on the athletics track at Beaton Park in Wollongong on Sunday, October 22, as 434 people walked in support of those with brain cancer.
The Walk 4 Brain Cancer event was in its seventh year at Beaton Park and raised $14,127 on the day, with more than $400,000 raised for the charity by the Wollongong community.
Maddi and Jacob Purcell from Dapto were among those walking to honour those lost to brain cancer, celebrate survivors, and give hope, courage and support to those fighting brain cancer.
28-year-old Jacob was given 12-to-18 months to live after being diagnosed with a rare, fast-growing brain cancer - a Grade 4 astrocytoma, also known as glioblastoma - which is almost always fatal.
The couple attended the walk in 2022, in the early days of his diagnosis, and found hope and other people who could relate to what they were going through.
"We're not medical professionals, so we can't contribute to research, but if we can raise money so people can keep working and fighting for other people with cancer, then we can help," Ms Purcell said.
Guest Speaker Lance Kawaguchi, CEO, Cure Brain Cancer Foundation attended the event where he told supporters how the money raised would be used.
Preparations are now under way for the 2024 event, expected to be held around October 20, 2024.
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